Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by WifeofaUSsailor on March 31, 2015 at 12:25am

Hey there! My husband is in A school right now and I'm at home doing online courses and not working. We make it work just fine. We just don't go out to eat a lot, use coupons when we can, and don't purchase things we don't need. The military gives us housing allowance and my husband is in the process of getting a food allowance since he lives at home with me and not at the barracks. You can absolutely make it work :)

Permalink Reply by Amberly535 on March 31, 2015 at 12:37am

Thanks for the response! If you don't mind me asking what rank is he currently in? Also did he receive full bah when he was in boot camp? Sorry I just have a lot of questions!:(

Permalink Reply by abuon18 on April 1, 2015 at 5:11pm

Really juat depends on your personal situation. In our house, we wouldn't be able to afford the lifestyle we like if I didn't work full time as well. We don't like to sacrifice so we don't. I also enjoy working. I tried the stay at home thing for awhile when we PCSed and just about went crazy.

When he is boot camp he will get BAH but be aware it takes a few pay cycles before he will even see a paycheck - I think about a month before he even gets paid. You will get NAH retroactively from The time he left. Generally the first paycheck is the smallest because they pay for their uniforms and essentials from that check. You can look up pay scales online if you Google Navy pay charts so you can get an idea of how much he will be making.

My advice is to continue working while he is in boot camp and maybe through A school depending if you plan to move with him or not. (It's not always an option.) When he lives it's going to be really hard emotionally and working will help keep you occupied and help you maintain a routine and some normalcy. Also you can save some money that way because when you eventually PCS, even though the Navy pays for your move it is always more expensive out of pocket than you anticipate, and if you don't live on base you'll need to pay for things like security deposit, first & last month's rent, deposits for utilities possibly. Some commands will pay up front for the move and some will only reimburse so you want to make sure you can afford to move yourselves if you have to get reimbursed for all or part of the move.

As far as budgeting, now while you are working is a good time to look at your finances and see what you can cut out to save money and scale back if necessary. If you were only living on one income what could you do without? LOTS of families do it so it's definitely possible but it really is unique to everyone's situation.

Permalink Reply by abuon18 on April 1, 2015 at 5:11pm

Sorry for any typos, I am on my phone.

Permalink Reply by Jenn_NicksWifey on April 3, 2015 at 3:02pm

My husband has been in for almost 3 years.  I've been a stay at home mom the entire time.  It was hard to adjust, because I had been a divorced mom before that and was used to working a lot.  We're in San Diego, childcare is crazy expensive, we now have 3 kids.  If it's just you and him, you could easily work, maybe find a job you like better.  If you have kids, it might be more economical to stay home.  It definitely is for us.  

As far as making ends meet on one income, the main thing is, you DON'T need new crap all the time.  I see people around us buying a new car every other year, new furniture, new toys for the kids, trips all the time.  Then they complain when they have to wait till payday to go grocery shopping or (sadly) have to ask friends and neighbors for extra diapers until payday.  Buy what you need, try to get a good deal on it, just don't buy stuff you don't need.  There are some really awesome second hand stores here, I get most of the 2 little kids clothes and toys there.  We do lots of free stuff.  The beach, the community pool, playgrounds throughout the neighborhood.  

We meal plan, so we we're not buying all kinds of stuff and not using it before it spoils.  

I coupon, so most of our toiletries are free or close to it.  That helps a ton when prepping for deployment when he needs an 8 month supply of everything.  

The Navy Marine Corps Relief Society does programs to help with budgeting and your ombudsman will be able to help you get aclimated to the city when you move to your new station.  Sticker shock when we moved here was a big deal for us.  Everything is crazy expensive here.